Two faculty members of Romblon State University participated in the first leg of cross-visits by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) last Dec. 5-9.
Charevel Ferranco, Director of Media and Public Affairs, and Ann Janeth Alba, Academic Council Secretary, were among the twenty-one delegates of the Philippines who passed rigorous screening of the consortium. The three-day visit was set in Bangkhen and Kamphaeng San campuses of the Kasetsart University (KU), Thailand’s national research university.
Delegates toured en masse in KU’s state-of-the-art facilities, including the first smart green learning resource center in the country, and happened to visit the famous Kaset Fair featuring grand exhibit of vegetables, orchids, and the Rainbow Rice fields. There were also lectures on the ‘model’ university’s commercialization activities, research incubations, governance structure, and quality assurance systems.
“This is an eye-opener that there is so much more to unlock in Philippine higher education and that we have so much potential to become a global brand,” Ferranco took to social media her insights. Seizing the opportunity, Ferranco and Alba had an initial talk and handed down a letter of intent and an MOU draft to the heads of KU International Affairs Division for possible partnerships. Established in 1943, KU is the largest and first agricultural university in Thailand. It boasts 125 undergraduate, 139 graduate, and 53 post-graduate programs.
KU was also the site of the recent summer enrichment program of the Asian Association of Agricultural Colleges and Universities (AAACU) attended by Jennah Mae Panal, a BS Agriculture student from RSU. The cross-visit is part of the CHED-funded project Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI-AFAR). Singapore will be the next stop of SEARCA’s cross-visit and is set to welcome another batch of delegates.